


Mittens and Hats

by velutluna_ithil



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Children, F/F, Fluff, Snow, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-29
Updated: 2015-11-29
Packaged: 2018-05-03 21:28:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5307503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/velutluna_ithil/pseuds/velutluna_ithil
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>JJ and Emily take their sons for a walk in a winter wonderland.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Do you want to build a snow man?

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to soul-wanderer for the prompt! I hope you all enjoy it!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily and JJ decide to take their family on a walk.

The snow fell gently on the bare branched trees outside the window. The early January sun was deceptively bright, the warm rays belying how biting the wind was outside. The pavement was covered in only a light dusting of snow; a conscientious neighbour had been up early to take care of the night’s snowfall. Between the glittering white lawn and the smoke rising from the chimneys, it was a morning almost too picturesque to be true.

Fingers intertwined, the two women stood in front of the window, contemplating the winter wonderland outside their house. There was a serenity to the way they stood there, quiet and comfortable and secure, as if there was no danger in their lives, as if nothing dark had ever touched them. And in that moment, their past troubles were so far from their minds as if to be non-existent.

“We should take Henry and Jamie out, don’t you think?” JJ said, her voice soft, unwilling to disturb the stillness unnecessarily.

Emily sipped her peppermint tea before answering. “I think that would be lovely. If almost unbearably kitschy.” A cheeky grin appeared on her face as JJ nudged her playfully.

“Come on, Em. You know you secretly want to be that kind of couple. Taking our son out for walks in the sun, holding hands, being overly affectionate in public,” JJ teased.

Emily rolled her eyes, but thought to herself how amazing it was that JJ was right. She did want that, she wanted to experience blissful normalcy every now and again. And with JJ, Henry and now Jamie, it was possible to live in the moment, to be fully with her new family, the ghosts of the past where they belonged.

Jennifer saw the thoughts play over Emily’s face, attuned to each other as they were. She squeezed Emily’s hand for a moment and her partner’s surprised smile lightened her heart. It amazed her that Emily still wasn’t used to casual affection, especially such intimate, innocent things as holding hands.

“So, do you want to build a snow man?” JJ said.

Emily laughed, a warm sound that filled JJ with happiness. She’d watch every Disney movie a hundred times over if it meant that she could get Emily to laugh like that. Not that she had much choice in what movies they watched- Frozen was all Henry wanted to watch lately.

“It doesn’t have to be a snowman,” JJ added, to Emily’s delight.

“Sure, I’ll build a-“

“Oh, that’s not the line, Em! Hasn’t Henry taught you anything?” JJ joked.

“It’s too early to expect me to be on top of my Disney references. Let me have breakfast first, at least,” Emily defended herself.

JJ nodded, then frowned slightly.

“What?”

“This is going to be another breakfast without coffee,” JJ said with genuine sadness. Again, Emily laughed.

“This isn’t a laughing matter, Ms. Prentiss,” JJ chastised. “It might be my least favorite thing about breast feeding.”

“You should really try some peppermint-“

“No, no, no. I will not cheat on coffee with leaf water!”

“You realize that coffee is just bean water, right?” Emily said, heading down the stairs to the kitchen.

“Beans are better than leaves any day!” JJ argued. As she walked over to her older son’s room she heard Emily chuckling on the first floor. Emily’s laugh did strange things to her insides, twisting them up in the most pleasant kind of knot. She quietly pushed open Henry’s door, but Henry was already sitting up in bed, avidly flipping through an picture based science book that Reid had gotten him.

“Morning, mommy!” he said with a big smile on his face and JJ’s heart swelled even more.

“Good morning, sweetheart. How did you sleep?”

Henry was already climbing out of bed as he answered. “Good. Did you see the snow?!” JJ nodded.

Standing before her, Henry looked at her expectantly.

“Can we go outside and build a snowman?”


	2. Healthy Competition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The challenges of dressing children.

“May I be excused?” Henry asked, hardly waiting for his mother’s nod before scrambling off, lanky limbs carrying him up the stairs.

“Get your snowsuit ready!” JJ called up after him while Emily shook her head.

“I doubt that worked,” she chuckled. JJ sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

“He’ll need help anyway, that suit is a real pain to put on. Which kid do you want?”

Emily paused for a moment, dirty dishes in her hands. “I’ll dress Jamie,” she said, loading their pancake plates into the dishwasher. “When you’re finished with him,” she added, glancing over at Jennifer, who had moved to the couch with their youngest, breasts bared.

“Breakfast time, Jamie boy,” JJ cooed at the tiny baby in her arms. She still couldn’t get over how absolutely perfect their son was. His tiny hands gripping her hair, his pale blue eyes, his little suckling lips. Her desire for coffee was nothing compared to the need she felt to hold her precious boy in her arms. She mentally thanked her team again for allowing her to stay home, and for Emily being able to take maternity leave as well. She wasn’t sure what favors Hotch had had to call in, but she was incredibly grateful.

Emily finished clearing the breakfast table before sitting down on the couch next to her wife. _Wife._ That word caught her unawares every time. They had only been married for a few months, being one of the first couples to get married when it was legalized throughout the country. When they heard the news they already knew about JJ’s pregnancy. JJ had jokingly asked if Emily was going to make an honest woman out of her and despite the teasing, Emily’s yes had been heartfelt. And that was how JJ proposed by accident; joking but in total earnest. Their wedding had been small, a friendly minister and their friends, though Garcia had insisted on decorating their backyard for the occasion. Neither of them had minded, and seeing JJ walk up the small path, illuminated by hundreds of fairy lights had been one of the most magical experience’s of Emily’s life.

Lost in her memories she didn’t noticed that JJ had finished nursing Jamie. JJ placed a quick kiss on Emily’s cheek, bringing her back into the moment.

“Here’s your son. See you back here in five?”

“Someone’s being optimist,” Emily laughed.

“If I tell Henry it’s a race we can do five.”

“Are you making this a competition, Agent Jareau?”

“You bet!” JJ giggled, rushing up the stairs.

Emily grinned, following at a slower pace. With Jamie in her arms she didn’t feel quite as comfortable bounding up the steps. She took the yawing child to his room, setting him in his wooden trundle bed.  

“Your mother is crazy, you know that?” she said, rummaging in the small closet.

“But I’m crazy for her so I guess that means you have two crazy mothers, huh?”

She finally found his new white pram. _Pram_. What an odd word for a piece of clothing. She had had to do quite a bit of reading to catch up with JJ’s knowledge. Sometimes she still worried about making mistakes, especially since JJ had a head start learning about children. Jennifer was quick to reassure her that she was doing perfectly, but Emily couldn’t help being nervous.

She picked up Jamie gently, easing his feet into the legs of the suit, then his arms. His pacifier fell out and his face scrunched up, immediately realizing something was missing.

“Here you go, darling. Hush, hush,” she said, guiding the pacifier to Jamie’s waiting mouth. Her face lit up at his contented look.

She grabbed a blanket from the chest and wrapped him in that as well, before heading back down stairs. She wondered if JJ had conviced Henry to participate in their little competition.

“Come on, mommy!” she heard Henry call from the hallway. He was sitting by the front door, still without his snowsuit. Emily heard JJ reply from further back in the hallway. “I can see it, I just have to get it—ooof!”

Emily glanced down the hall, where JJ was standing with the snowsuit in hand, surrounded by empty shoe boxes that must have fallen out of the closet.

“I win,” she grinned, holding up their son as proof.

“Yeah yeah,” JJ muttered, but her eyes glittered with laughter.

“MOM!”

“I’m coming, I’m coming.”

It was another ten minutes of struggling with Henry’s suit and putting the plastic over the stroller before the family was ready to leave the house.


	3. As is should be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The long awaited walk finally takes place and Emily has motherhood doubts.

Snow crunching underneath their feet the two women walked down their quiet street, Henry running ahead in front of them, eagerly knocking snow off mailboxes and trying to make snowballs with his red mittens. Em glanced down at the sleeping boy in the stroller she was pushing.

“Are you sure he’s warm enough? I mean, it is really is quite cold. Do you think I should’ve brought another blanket? How can I tell if he’s too cold? Will he cry? What if-“

Her rambling was interrupted by JJ’s finger squeezing her arm. She looked over, Jennifer’s hair tucked into a dark blue hat, her hands in matching gloves. Her nose was red from the cold, only worrying Emily more. If JJ was cold, wasn’t Jamie sure to be freezing?

“I can see your brain doing overtime, Em. Love, stop worrying.”

“I can’t, I mean, what if something happened-“ Emily started again.

JJ shook her head, then forced Emily to stop walking.

“Look at me, Emily Prentiss. Eyes here. Now you listen to me. Nothing is going to happen to our son. You are a brilliant mother. Do you hear me?” she asked, her voice commanding.

Emily nodded, unconvinced.

JJ relented. “Em, I know you worry you’re not good at this. But all it takes is practice. I know you think I’m this super mom or something, but you should have seen me when Henry was born. I was a mess, I didn’t know what I was doing half the time. No amount of research really prepares you for a child. But love is the most important thing you can give a child, and you have more than enough love for little Jamie. And he feels that.”

JJ cupped Emily’s cheek with her gloved hand, glad when Emily’s lips finally turned up again.

Em gripped JJ’s fingers in her own. “I really do love him.” Her eyes glistened with unshed tears, something that would have bothered her a year or so ago. Now she knew that those tears were good tears, ones that showed that she was around people she cared about and trusted.

“And we love you,” JJ answered.

They saw Henry a few houses down, lingering by a particularly interesting mail box, as if waiting for his mothers to get closer before exploring any further. The couple began walking again, more relaxed than before.

“Also, Em, if you want to know if Jamie is warm enough, touch his hands or feet and check if they’re cold. That’s what my mom taught me.”

“Mom, come here!” Henry called. JJ looked at Emily briefly.

“Go,” Emily said, smiling. She wondered what Henry wanted to show JJ, but was thankful for a few moments alone with Jamie. When JJ reached Henry, Emily stopped the stroller, pulled off one of her gloves and then quickly untucked the blanket around Jamie. She slipped her finger in his miniature mitten. His skin was warm, just like it should be.

Indeed, she thought, tucking him back in and looking over at the snow ball fight JJ and Henry were currently warring, today everything was just as it should be.


End file.
